I. SB 507's Requirements to Install Video Cameras in the Classroom
The 84th Texas Legislature recently passed Senate Bill (SB) 507, which was signed by Governor Greg Abbott into law on Jun. 19, 2016.
SB 507 requires Texas school districts to install audio/video monitoring equipment in any self-contained classroom in which special education services are being provided to at least 50 percent of the students for at least 50 percent of the school day. The requirement is triggered in the event that a parent, school board member, or staff member on the campus requests that audio/video monitoring equipment be installed. The bill also requires school districts to store the audio and video recordings for not less than six months and to release the footage to persons specified by the bill. The camera equipment be capable of recording audio from all areas of the classroom or other special education setting. Real-time monitoring is not permitted under the law.
Under SB 507, the following groups of people may have access to certain footage in certain situations:
1. A school district employee or a parent or guardian of a student who is involved in an incident documented by the recording for which a complaint has been reported to the district, on request of the employee, parent, or guardian, respectively;
2. Appropriate Department of Family and Protective Services personnel as part of an investigation of child abuse or neglect in a school setting under Section 261.406 of the Texas Family Code;
3. A peace officer, a school nurse, a district administrator trained in de-escalation and restraint techniques as provided by commissioner rule, or a human resources staff member designated by the board of trustees of the school district or the governing body of the open-enrollment charter school in response to a complaint or an investigation of district or school personnel or a complaint of abuse committed by a student; or
4. Appropriate agency or State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) personnel or agents as part of an investigation.
The mandate of video and audio capture by Texas law requires a balance between security and privacy. The video capture must be maintained securely so that it may only be accessed by properly authorized personnel.
II. SB 507-Compliant Solutions
There are many video security systems available that involve the use of expensive cameras linked to control systems which stream data to cloud sites for archival purposes. Setting up and maintaining these sites becomes burdensome and costly as the collected data grows requiring ever increasing storage and maintenance fees.
Because of the unique requirements of SB 507 (and any similar legislation that may be enacted in the future), much of this equipment is unneeded and unnecessary. Therefore, a totally self-contained and managed system that is built for the specific requirements of SB 507 would be desirable. Such a system has the advantage of alleviating the need for costly storage management and user required maintenance.